The surprise weakness Hamilton revealed in his Portugal win

Lewis Hamilton has long been accustomed to making Formula 1 history.

Even before his win in the Portuguese Grand Prix he had, amongst others, the records for most poles, most podiums and most points. But with his triumph at Portimao he now has one of two standout records: the highest all-time win total.

That win has also pulled him so far clear of team-mate and title rival Valtteri Bottas that it seems inevitable (pandemic aberrations notwithstanding) he will triumph in the 2020 championship and join Michael Schumacher at the head of the other standout F1 statistics tally - seven world titles. He could do so as soon as next month's Turkish GP.

By taking the win record alone, Hamilton will now be a record breaker with every passing victory - and his strike rate shows no signs of slowing.

He is undefeated in championship terms since his bitter famous loss to former team-mate Nico Rosberg - after which it has been suggested he has worked to eliminate as many inadequacies from each weekend performance as possible to brace against the unexpected: unreliability or accidents. Which is why it was somewhat surprising he encountered a brief moment of weakness (in the physical sense) while on his way to winning in Portugal.

Heading into the race's final eight laps, Hamilton reported a vicious bout of cramp affecting his right calf. It had initially struck a few laps before, as he raced onto the track's main straight, forcing the world champion to briefly step off the gas before Turn 1.

Mercedes could see what was happening in the data - but was seemed to be unsure of the cause, hence Peter Bonnington's understanding reply to Hamilton's radio report: "Ahh, copy. Okay, understood."

"We saw it on the data that he lifted and asked him about it," explained Toto Wolff afterwards. "As a team you can't do anything about it. I can't put the physiotherapist in his car. But these things can happen when you are dehydrated or you tense up in the car. And that happens to the best, as you can see."

When asked about the issue by Autosport, Hamilton explained: "I generally didn't drink a lot today and I remember getting into the car thinking 'I'm probably going to be dehydrated'.

"I can't stay off the gas, I've got to keep going. It's just mind over matter - so I just had to keep pushing. It was pretty excruciating for a couple of laps" Lewis Hamilton

"I never drink in the race, never. Anyway, I started having small cramps. It's a very physical circuit but your throttle pedal, [where] there's lots of bumps, undulations, you're applying the throttle pretty aggressively for pretty much every lap all the way and you never really get to rest.

"I was coming out of the last corner, coming around Turn 15 onto the straight, and I got the feeling that it was about to pull - like you're pulling a muscle. It popped and it hurt so much, I had to lift and I didn't really know what to do because every time I applied it the pain was there.

"But, of course, I can't stay off the gas, I've got to keep going. It's just mind over matter - so I just had to keep pushing. It was pretty excruciating for a couple of laps, but then it started to kind of.... I don't know whether blood starts rushing to it and the adrenalin takes over but I've definitely got a bit of a knot in my knee, my calf. I will seek medical attention afterwards."

Most people understand how painful and awkward a cramp attack can be - as the muscle involved suddenly tightens and shortens. Few, if any, people have gone through such an experience at the wheel of an F1 car, racing at high-speed while trying to extend a gap over a championship rival, with a key win and moment of history on the line.

All in all, the issue did not really affect Hamilton all that much. In the final 10 laps to the finish, the period when the cramp struck, he never completed a lap slower than Bottas - plus set the race's fastest lap. In doing so he entered a laptime bracket (the 1m18s) Bottas never did all race, which underlined Hamilton's superiority on race day - where he had worked to balance his tyre management over both ends of his W11, ensuring he kept critical heat in his tyres. His decisiveness in traffic was also a key factor in why he could do this better than Bottas.

PLUS: The pre-race call that gave Hamilton the edge at Portimao

But Hamilton's admission that he suspected he'd encounter dehydration is slightly surprising, given his reputation for doing everything he can to eliminate potential pitfalls.

When it comes to hydration, the drivers try to get as prepared as possible in advance, knowing they will need the benefits good hydration provides when the temperatures and pressures rise in the cockpit. This means consuming the right nutrients and electrolytes to keep them alert and functioning at their peak - with how much fluid weight they will lose calculated ahead of time to keep things stable, which is where pre-event hydration is key.

This is an on-going process over the weekend, not the case of just necking gallons before stepping into the car - as the body can only take on so much without flushing out the excess (if you'll pardon the scatological imagery).

At intensely hot and humid events such as Singapore, and in the past in Malaysia, their drinks bottle fluids will get incredibly hot, more akin to hot tea than thirst-quenching cool relief. This makes it hard to consume and is why so much attention is paid to their body reactions over an F1 event.

But the air temperatures at Portimao never got above 22 degrees C all weekend, which created the problem the drivers were having in terms of generating tyre heat to keep them in the critical operating windows. So, it's odd that Hamilton got into difficulty. Back in 2017 he was racing without a drinks bottle to save car weight, but these days has it available, he just doesn't use it.

But this isn't to admonish him. It's merely a reminder of the lengths to which he has gone, and will continue to go, to grab every opportunity on offer. The idea is to be bulletproof, which he briefly was not last weekend.

In any case, the problem did not stop him winning the race and making history, and given his attitude to eliminating any such minor weakness - as well as his desire to prove his superiority over determined younger rivals - is unlikely to become a common theme.

Before the event in Portugal got underway, Hamilton's Mercedes future was again in the headlines - understandable given his new contract, and one relating to Wolff, remain so far unsigned. However, Hamilton hinted that he may yet have a lengthy stint in F1 ahead just yet.

"I think I've earned the right or the position so far to be able to stay for a decent amount of time," he explained. "Time will tell. I can't really say too much more. Hopefully you'll hear something in the next couple of months."

If it comes to pass that Hamilton's F1 career goes on for years to come, his focus on self-improvement and overcoming every little problem will surely lead him to take the win record he now possesses alone to well over 100 victories.

A recorder breaker every time he wins, he only has himself to beat now.